Marinated mushrooms are a staple on any antipasti plate, and if you can get porcini, which are popping in the Rockies now, so much the better. Here’s how to do the technique the Italians call sott’olio.

Every spring I have a brief fling with my illicit lover, Amanita velosa. She is the sweetest, most lovely mushroom I’ve ever eaten, and I spend long hours looking for her. Here’s how to safely identify this mushroom, and how to cook it.

Spring is here in NorCal. Normally I feel bad about it, almost ashamed. After all, so many of you are still locked in winter, and will be for months. But this is my reality. And I embrace it. In this episode I talk about early spring foraging, the end of hunting seasons and embracing transition in your life.

In this week’s podcast, I’m talking mushrooms. Specifically, how to get into mushroom hunting – safely. I talk you through the basics, how to get started, what varieties you will want to look for first, and how not to poison yourself.

This is about as classic French as you get. Salmis (sal-mee) of snipe: Salmis is where you roast a bird, make a quick sauce from the bones, and serve it with mushrooms and maybe some toast. This is a fantastic snipe recipe.